a pastel sunset reflecting off wetlands in the foreground

About the Journal

Central Valley Birds publishes peer-reviewed articles, notes, and reviews of publications on the avifauna of California's Central Valley. Of particular interest is original information that addresses bird status, distribution, ecology, and conservation. Contribution of high-quality photographs and artwork are also welcomed.

Announcements

The Central Valley Matters for California’s First Statewide Breeding Bird Atlas

2026-04-22

California’s Central Valley is one of the most important bird landscapes in North America. If you bird the Central Valley, you already have local knowledge that is incredibly valuable to this effort. The Atlas provides a shared structure and a simple pathway to turn that knowledge into information that can guide conservation decisions statewide.

Read more about The Central Valley Matters for California’s First Statewide Breeding Bird Atlas

Current Issue

Vol. 29 No. 1 (2026): Central Valley Birds
					View Vol. 29 No. 1 (2026): Central Valley Birds

Ed Pandolfino, Lowell Young and Zack Smith present more information from Lowell’s impressive 17 years of monitoring Raptors in the Sierra foothills. They look at the relative numbers of Red-tailed Hawk adults and juveniles in various land covers and discuss how their findings relate to theories about dominance among resident and migrant adults and juveniles.

First published paper on the status of the growing non-native Mute Swan population in the central Sierra foothills of California. Dan Airola documents swan abundance and pond habitat features that the swans select. The study results are a baseline for assessing future population growth (or decline through control efforts) and can assist modeling of the potential for population expansion elsewhere.

A report of Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism on the cavity-nesting Ash-throated flycatcher.

Seasonal reports from the busy Fall and Winter 2024-2025 seasons.

Cover Photo: Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis). 24 February 2016.  Yolo County, California.  

Photo by Dan Brown.

Published: 2026-04-25
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